Channeling a Jungle Beast
by carmenkhoiaos
Summary: A face from Casey's past shows up in Oceans Bluff to teach the Rangers a new technique. AU.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I own nothing. This takes place between 'Ghost of a chance part 2' and 'Bad to the Bone'. It's AU mainly because i haven't watched that much of Jungle Fury except a few clips. Still, enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 1

Casey Rhodes was running through the jungle. It wasn't his first choice for his usual early morning jog, but today his Tiger had won the battle. Now he was trailing through the moss, twig and leaf covered non-existent pathway, instead of his usual tarred pathway.

Since there was no one in the jungle besides him and the regular inhabitants, Casey released the Tiger within. His senses shot up to a new high. He saw every detail of the forest; he saw the nesting birds in the trees, the spiders building their webs and… a shadow.

Casey stopped running and looked into the trees. There was nothing there. He felt the frustration of his Tiger. He didn't like to be messed with; if this was one of Dai Shi's plans, it would be better if the monster just challenged him straight.

The shadow passed again, but this time, Casey and his Tiger, were ready. He followed the shadow, keeping up with it easily. His reflexes were the only reason he wasn't falling flat on his face. Slowly, the shadow turned into a figure he recognized. It was a Gorilla Jungle Beast!

It stopped running and so did he, coming to a halt in a clearing with some space between them. As Casey caught his breath, the Jungle Beast began to change in front of his eyes. A grey aura surrounded the Gorilla and its arms and legs became human.

Its features became more defined and Casey had to look away. The Gorilla turned into a young woman. She had shoulder length black hair, brown eyes and chocolate brown skin.

"Hi Casey."

He turned his head back to her. He was glad to see that she kept the grey aura around her sensitive areas. He stepped closer to her and tried to remember her. All she did was smile and watch him stare at her.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

She laughed. Her laugh gave him goose bumps… the good kind.

"You really don't know who I am?"

Before he could say anything his communication alert sounded. He held his Solar morpher in his hand and looked at the young woman.

"Go ahead. I'll see you later."

Her Jungle Beast took over and Casey watched the Gorilla jump into the trees and swing away. He put his morpher on.

"Hey Lily."

"Where are you Casey? It's almost opening time!"

He started running back to where the path was that would lead him back to Oceans Bluff.

"Sorry. I lost track of time."

"Hurry!"

Lily hung up and he put his morpher back into its pouch. As he ran back to the city, Casey couldn't help but think about the girl. Why can't I remember who she is he thought to himself.

When he got to Jungle Karma Pizza Parlor, Lily chewed him out about checking the time.

He just nodded at everything she said and went to change into his uniform. When he got back onto the floor, he put on a smile for the customers, but inside he was still thinking about the girl.

* * *

End of the first chapter. Please review. I was thinking of adding a few more chapters but that will depend.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you to casey and lily fan for reviewing. And a special thank you to MF 22 for being the first to review. and for being clever enough to figure it out before it even started ;).

I own nothing

* * *

The last customer finally left the Jungle Karma Pizza Parlor. Fran locked the front door and put the 'closed' sign up. Casey sat in one of the booths and cleaned the menus. Lily and Theo cleaned up in the kitchen.

Fran sat across the booth from Casey, helping him with the cleaning. She didn't understand how they ever got dirty. But then she remembered all the little kids whose hands were always greasy.

Fran looked up at Casey. It seemed as if he was thinking about something Ranger related.

"Case, you okay?"

After a long while, Casey looked up at her. "Huh? Did you say something Fran?"

"Yeah, what's on your mind?"

"Uh… I'm thinking about how there wasn't a single Dai Shi attack all day."

"I don't know about you, but I'm glad." Theo said coming out of the kitchen followed by Lily.

"A whole day without a single bruise!" Lily said happily.

"If it's bruises you want, I'm working on a new crash course right now." RJ came into the Parlor from the kitchen.

Luckily (or unluckily) for the three the alarm went off.

"Sorry RJ." Theo said slapping his mentor on the back, "The Rinshi don't rub it in our faces if you fail."

The three rangers ran off.

"Just when you start to think evil takes a day off." Lily said as the three ran to the co-ordinates.

They got to the scene and saw the monster of the day scaring people. The Rinshi were everywhere.

"Let's suit up guys!"

They put their solar morphers on and activated them.

"JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!"

They jumped down into the crowd and fought the Rinshi, keeping them away from the people. Once they were gone, the Rangers focused on the monster.

"I assume you managed to defeat the Rinshi so quickly because you face them every day." The monster said in a British accent. "I am Antager and I promise you, I will not be defeated as easily."

He threw energy bolts at the Rangers and they fell back. They tried getting up but they couldn't.

"What's happening?" Theo asked groaning in pain.

"This doesn't feel right." Lily commented struggling to get to her feet.

"Come on guys, keep trying to get up!" Casey encouraged although he was in pain as well.

"That won't be possible." Antager said. "You see, my energy bolts drain you of your power. If I drain just enough, your Beast Spirits will cease to exist!"

Antager prepared another bolt in his hand and crept closer, laughing with every step. The Rangers hadn't given up on trying to get away from the monster. Antager raised the bolt, ready to fire.

An energy blast, out of nowhere, hit Antager in the back. He stumbled back, falling into his energy bolt.

After a moment of struggle, Antager got back on his feet, clutching his smoking chest with one of his hands. He, as well as the Rangers, looked for the source of the attack. A Ranger landed right between Antager and the three Rangers. By the skirt on the uniform, they could tell it was a girl. Her helmet gave away what Casey had been thinking about all day. It was the Gorilla girl he'd seen that morning on his jog.

She stood to her feet, "Your move Antager!"  
"As much as I'd enjoy it, I must go. Pardon me."

The monster vanished and the Rangers powered down. The three had managed to get to their knees. The girl turned to them. She looked just like Casey remembered from this morning, just with a lot more clothes. She knelt beside Casey and touched his shoulder. He though it strange, but she seemed to know him, so he had to trust her.

"Let me get you guys back to RJ's." she said with concern in her voice.

"Not until you tell me your name!" Casey said.

Lilly and Theo exchanged quick glances at what their friend just did. He had never spoken with such authority before.

"Do you wanna stay here writhing in pain or do you wanna go back to RJ's and get better?" she asked looking a little annoyed.

"You tell and then we'll go."

"Stubborn as always." She smiled a little then sighed. "My name is Carmen Rilla. I am Master Rilla's daughter."

* * *

Let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: it's a little strange posting this chapter without many reviews. but i'm guessing you guys like the story, hence the many views. Anywho... here's chapter 3.

* * *

The three Jungle Fury Rangers were sitting on the couch in RJ's place. They had just finished drinking a special tea Carmen had made for them. She had said it would restore the energy Antager had taken from them. And it worked. Now the three of them were waiting for RJ, Fran and Carmen to finish their conversation.

As Lily and Theo got lost in their own conversation, Casey thought back to his childhood. It was strange that he had forgotten the best friend he had ever had.

(Flashback)

Young Casey ran into a school building, looking as lost as he felt. His dad had dropped him off at the gate of his new school, wished him luck and driven off. He was already late, and without a parent to explain why, he knew he would be in big trouble.

Casey pulled out a map of the school and tried to find his first class. It seemed hopeless. Just as he was about to give up, a young girl popped up in front of him. He stepped back in surprise. The girl just kept smiling.

"Hi Casey." she said.

Casey stepped closer to her, "I'm sorry, do i know you?"

She laughed. It made Casey smile in turn. The girl turned her head to a corridor. She touched his shoulder.

"Come on. We should get to class."

"Not until you tell me your name."

The girl looked baffled. She scoffed. "Do you wanna get caught?"

"You tell and then we'll go."

She smiled and shook her head. "I'm Carmen Rilla."

He smiled back at her. The footsteps in the corridor got louder. Carmen grabbed Casey's arm and they ran down the hall. She shoved him through a door and Casey noticed they were in the classroom he'd been looking for. The teacher told Carmen and him to sit.

As they did, he saw Carmen wink at him. He smiled back. From that day on, Carmen and him were inseparable.

(End Flashback)

That was until Casey had to start his training. Carmen couldn't join him. Her mom wanted to keep her away from anything that had caused her father's death. They had tried to stay in contact, but it didn't last long. They both got busy.

In the other room, RJ was staring at Carmen, slowly rubbing his chin. Carmen had her arms folded across her chest. Fran sat in a chair and looked between the two of them.

"You're Master Rilla's teenage daughter?" RJ asked suspiciously.

"Yes." Carmen said, as if for the hundredth time.

"But you're bl…" Carmen and Fran's eyes shot to RJ's face, "I mean… you look nothing like Master Rilla."

"Oh yeah. There's this thing… It's called adoption." Carmen said. RJ nodded in understanding. "I may not have his blood, but I do have his name. And apparently, I also have the same beast spirit. So I will bring honor to it."

"Right. But why are you here?" RJ asked.

"My father contacted me. He wanted me to find the Rangers and help them."

"With what?" Fran asked.

Carmen sighed, "This war with Dai Shi is going to get worse before it gets better. The Spirit Rangers just want to make sure the three use everything they can."

"So Master Rilla's contribution is?"

"Teaching them to summon each other's Jungle Beasts. They will be able to form their Megazord even if one of them is sidelined."

"That is possible." RJ said stretching his arms. "So… How did you become a Ranger?"

RJ pointed to her morpher. (A/N: It's the GekiChanger from Juken Sentai Gekiranger except where there's black on the morpher, there's white on hers)

She smiled, "I know a guy who knows a guy who has an uncle."

RJ laughed. 

A few hours later Carmen was in the shower at RJ's. She hadn't been under warm water for a while now. Living in the Jungle, all there was, was a cold shower by the waterfall. She stepped out of the shower and covered herself with a towel. Only then did she realize something. She didn't have anything to change into. Casey had offered to wash her clothes. She got out of the bathroom and headed for the kitchen. Casey preparing a snack. He didn't seem to notice she was there.

"Casey?"

"Mmh?" he didn't look up at her.

"Where's Lily?"

"She's on a date with The… WOW!" Casey finally looked up at her and quickly covered his eyes. "Carmen! You-You're in a towel!"

Carmen looked down at herself. She didn't understand what he was fussing about. She was covered.

"Seriously Casey? This is normal!"

"Not in my world! Just… Cover up please!"

"I would if Lily were here." she took a breath to calm down. "I need something to wear."

Casey sighed, "Follow me."

He walked in front of her as they went to his bedroom. It had a bed, a closet and a desk. It was very simple. Casey dug through his closet. After a while, he held a black shirt out to her. He looked away as she changed. A wet towel to the back of his head told him that she was done. He turned to face her. The shirt was one he rarely wore. It was big on her, but it was all he could give her.

"Thanks Casey." Carmen said with a smile.

"You're welcome."

They got out of his bedroom. Carmen sat on the couch in the living area as Casey continued into the kitchen.

"So, Lily and Theo, how long have they been dating?"

"A couple of months," Casey came out of the kitchen and sat next to her, holding a sandwich out to her. She took it with a smile. "Tuesday is date night. Even RJ asked Fran out."

"What about you?" she asked bitting into her sandwich.

"I'm with you right now." Casey watched Carmen laugh. The goose bumps reappeared. He laughed too. "But I don't go out because I'm way behind on Lily and Theo. I was a cub at Pai Zhug before we became Rangers."

"Oh. But you have natural talent."

Suddenly Casey's tone became angry. But the anger was directed at himself. "I had to see Fran in danger before I managed to find my beast spirit."

Carmen turned herself to face her childhood friend. "Case, it doesn't matter how you figured it out. Master Mao and my father chose you for a reason."

She placed her hand over his. That's when both of them felt it. A spark traveled between the two of them. Carmen took her hand away and they finished eating in silence. Casey had no idea how he had managed to forget such an important person in his life. He promised himself that he'd never forget her again. His Tiger spirit seemed to agree with him.

The two old friends felt comfortable in the silence.

* * *

End of the third chapter. Please review.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for the reviews.

Here's chapter 4

I own nothing.

* * *

RJ woke up early the next morning. As he made his way to the kitchen to start on breakfast, he did his usual morning check up. He walked past Theo's room, as he was never there. He slowly opened Lily's bedroom door. Theo was in a sleeping bag on the floor, his usual place, right next to Lily's bed. Lily's arm was dangling from her bed, indicating they had held hands at some point.

RJ moved on to Casey's bedroom. Since he was usually on his own, RJ opened Casey's door without any hesitation. What he saw nearly made him jump out of the room.

Casey was sleeping in his bed… holding Carmen, who was dressed in one of his shirts! RJ closed the door and had to take a breath to compose himself. He hoped… no he prayed they hadn't done anything stupid. Instead of focusing on the bad, he continued on his original mission of making breakfast.

Once the smell of bacon filled the apartment, the Rangers began coming downstairs.

"Morning RJ." Lily said rubbing her eye.

"Morning Lil." He handed her a plate of food.

Theo came down next and RJ repeated his previous action, handing him a plate of food. Casey came down following soon after. RJ gave him a plate. He noticed something different about the leader of the Jungle Fury Rangers. His wolf knew what it was, but his human conscience wouldn't comprehend it happening again.

"Where's Carmen?" RJ asked preparing her plate.

"She's changing." Casey said joining the others at the table.

Carmen came into the room, dressed in her clothes from the previous day. RJ went into stalker mode. He gave Carmen her plate and she thanked him. As she approached the table, Casey pulled out the chair next to him for her. She thanked him and sat down.

RJ sighed. Once again his wolf was right. It had picked up on it with Lily and Theo as well. Now it was happening again. The last of his three Rangers had found his soul mate. Of course the Rangers didn't know. He wasn't going to tell them. This was one lesson they had to learn on their own.

RJ hadn't found his soul mate yet. He thought that it might have been Fran. Although he liked having her around, he hadn't felt the connection.

"RJ?" Carmen pulled him out of his thoughts, "Did you find a place for us to practice?"

"Oh yeah." He pulled out a piece of paper and wrote on it. "This is the address. Good luck."

Carmen smiled at him. When they finished breakfast, the Rangers went upstairs to change for their practice session.

The Rangers were doing their warm up stretches in a large empty gym hall. Lily and Theo warmed up together, while Casey, who usually warmed up alone, was partnered with Carmen. Neither of the two dared to mention how they woke up that morning. Neither of them was sure how it had come about.

Casey had offered Carmen his bed, while he'd slept on the floor like he'd seen Theo do more often over the past few months. When he'd opened his eyes in the morning, the first thing he'd seen were Carmen's brown eyes sleepily staring at him in confusion.

Before he could think about anything, she'd jumped out bed with her Gorilla-like skills and said she needed to change.

"Hey Carmen, why exactly are we here?" Lily asked. "We usually train at RJ's place."

"We need the high ceiling." She said walking towards her. "We'll be training with our Jungle Beasts."

"What?" Theo and Lily said at the same time.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun. Right Casey?"

"Yeah." He smiled at her.

Carmen stepped away from the three of them and knelt to the floor.

"Feral Beast Spirit unleashed!"

Her Gorilla Spirit appeared above her head and banged his chest letting out a roar. Carmen's eyes had turned grey. This was an indication of her channeling her Beast Spirit. She smiled at the others.

"Now it's your turn."

The three spread out and knelt to the floor like Carmen had.

"Feral Beast Spirit unleashed!" all three of them yelled.

Casey, Theo and Lily's Beasts appeared above them. Their eyes were red, blue and yellow respectively.

"Let's go!" Carmen said satisfied. "The three of you versus me!"

"Are you sure Carmen?" Casey asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Just attack me!"

They ran at each other. The Jungle Beasts fought the Gorilla while their carriers fought Carmen.

Antager was standing on top of the tallest building in Ocean Bluff. He took a deep breath.

"Yes! It is a good day for misery!"

The Jaguar and the Gorilla were in a heated battle. Casey and Lily were watching the fight from the side lines. Both of them had already, painfully lost to Carmen. Even with the combination of two Jungle Beasts (Casey choosing his tiger and Lily's Cheetah and Lily choosing her Cheetah and Theo's Leopard). With only his Jaguar Spirit, Theo was lasting longer than both of them combined.

The Jaguar swiped his paws at the Gorilla. It dogged it's claws and jumped into the air. The Gorilla threw its arms around the Jaguar and pinned it to the ground. Carmen had pinned Theo too. They smiled at each other. She helped him up and he bowed to her. They called their Spirits back and Theo joined the the others.

"So, did you feel the difference?" Carmen asked, not seeming exhausted at all.

"Yeah." Lily said, "It almost feels like i'm in Master mode."

"Exactly." Carmen sat next to Lily on the bench. "You have to be able to channel your Jungle Beast even without Master Mode. You'll be able to call each other's Beasts to form the Megazord if one of you is absent."

"Can we take a break?" Lily asked.

"Sure."

Theo was the first to run for the door. The facility they were practicing in had a water dispenser close by. Lily followed him at a slower rate. Casey drank from the water bottle he'd brought along. Carmen went to the center of the floor.

"Casey, come here." Carmen called him to her. He placed his water bottle down and went to her. "I want you to channel the Gorilla jungle beast, right now. I'll try to channel yours too."

Casey nodded and closed his eyes. A warm hand clutched his soon after. He opened his eyes and saw Carmen focusing as if taking his hand was something normal. Strangely, it did feel normal.

"Spirit of the Gorilla!"

"Spirit of the Tiger!"

The two Jungle Beasts came to their respective callers. Carmen had taken Casey's hand because she wasn't sure what channeling a Panthera Spirit would do to her body. Casey opened his eyes and smiled at Carmen. She was in deep thought though.

"There's a reason my father gave you his spirit." Carmen said, "But… I don't know why."

"I… I think I do." Casey pulled Carmen closer to him, trying not to show how scared he was at the moment. "Carmen… I think we…"

"Casey there's…" Lily's voice trailed off as she watched the two separate from each other. She hid her amusement by focusing on why she was there. "Antager is back!"

The three of them raced out meeting up with Theo. Casey and Carmen had already forgotten what just happened. The mission was always more important.

* * *

End of chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Chapter five. It took a while because the internet thinks it's funny. I own nothing, here's chapter five.

* * *

The Rangers got to the disturbance quickly. Antager was destroying the center of the city with little effort. The Rinshi were doing their best by scaring people. And with the way they looked, they didn't have to try hard to get a scream out of people.

The Rangers stopped running.

"Antager!" Casey yelled to get his attention.

The British-accented monster turned his attention to them. "Ah the Rangers. I was wondering when you'd show up." he raised his hand to his face. Blue energy formed around it. "Too bad our reunion will be short lived."

He threw energy bolts at them. Carmen activated her Gorilla Morpher and jumped in front of the team, catching the bolts with her hands. She contained the energy and threw it at the Rinshi. They were engulfed by the energy and blew apart.

"Nice." Casey said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"NO!" Antager says. "How dare you!"

"We dare, because we are the Jungle Fury Rangers!" Casey said. "Ready guys?"

"Ready!"

"JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!"

"JUNGLE MASTER MODE!"

"Spirit of the tiger, full fury! Jungle Master Red Ranger!"

"Spirit of the cheetah, full fury! Jungle Master Yellow Ranger!"

"Spirit of the jaguar, full fury! Jungle Master Blue Ranger!"

"Spirit of the gorilla, full fury! Jungle Master Gorilla Ranger!"

"We summon the animal spirits from within! Power Rangers Jungle Fury!"

"This should be interesting!" Antager summoned more Rinshi. "Come on!"

The BLue and Yellow Rangers fought the Rinshi. The Red and Gorilla Rangers teamed up on Antager. Casey grabbed Carmen's hand and threw her at him. She hit him with her own claw booster. Casey followed and did the same.

The Blue and Yellow Rangers destroyed the last of the Rinshi and joined them, surrounding Antager.

"You will not defeat me!" he yelled.

"Said every other monster we've ever fought!" Lily said.

The Rangers held out their claw boosters. "We summon the animal spirits from within!"

Their Beast Spirits attacked Antager and he was destroyed. He came back as a giant.

Carmen ran to the head of the team. "Animal Spirits unite!"

The Cheetah and Jaguar became the legs, the Tiger split in two and became the arms and the Gorilla became the upper torso. The Tiger locked onto the arms of the Gorilla.

"Jungle Pride with Gorilla power!"

"Your end has come!" Antager said.

Antager began attacking the Rangers. The Megazord was pushed around and beaten. Inside the cockpit the Rangers were still standing strong.

"Why aren't we feeling anything?" Lily asked. The other Rangers turned to her. "I'm not complaining, but usually we feel it when the Megazord is hit."

Antager continued slashing the Zord. Inside the cockpit, Carmen suddenly got weaker. The other Rangers turned to her. The Megazord took another hit. This time, they saw the pain reflected on the Gorilla Rangers suit. She fell down. Casey went to her.

"Carmen, what's wrong?"

She de-morphed her helmet. "Sorry Case, I've been channeling all the Megazords hits to my body."

Casey de-morphed his helmet too. There was another hit and Carmen's body shook.

"Stop it Carmen!" Casey ordered, "Release the hold you have over the Megazord!"

"I don't want you to get hurt." Carmen said.

"We're Power Rangers." he said, "It's part of the job description."

The Megazord took another hit and it rebounded on her again.

"Release it!" Casey yelled.

She did and the three Rangers felt the pain the Megazord was feeling. They needed to take a moment to compose themselves. Theo suddenly had more respect for the Gorilla Ranger. The Megazord was shaken again.

"Casey!" Lily screamed.

"We can't take much more of this." Theo said.

"I'll get Carmen out of the Megazord." Casey said.

"I'm not leaving!" Carmen argued. "We don't give up!"

"We're not giving up! We're just going to be sidelined."

Carmen shook her head. "Theo, Lily... Channel the Jungle Beasts."

The two nodded as Carmen and Casey left the cockpit. The remaining Rangers stood together.

"Spirit of the Penguin!"

"Spirit of the Antelope!"

The animal spirits came to stand next to the almost beaten up Megazord.

"Brought more friends for me to destroy have you?" Antager asked laughing.

"Not today Antager!" Lily said.

Lily and Theo crossed their arms and uncrossed them.

"Jungle Master Mode! Full Fury Spirit Attack!"

All the animals combined in a blinding flash and Antager was destroyed. The Rangers celebrated.

The four Rangers returned to Jungle Karma smiling and laughing. There were still a few customers and it was only two in the afternoon. Fran came out of the Kitchen holding a heavy tray with two large Pizzas. Casey took them from her and served the customers. He returned to his friends.

"Thanks Casey." Fran said with a grateful smile. "How was training today?"

"We learned a lot." Lily said.

"And the monster?" Fran kept her voice low.

"Taken care of." Theo said with a wink.

Lily smacked him in the arm. He laughed and took her hand in his. Lily smiled. Casey, who was standing next to Carmen felt an urge to take her hand. They still needed to have a conversation about what had happened that morning.

"Hey guys." RJ came in from the kitchen. "Well done. Now to celebrate, I will let you finish the rest of this shift." The Rangers groaned as RJ walked back into the kitchen and rang a bell. "Order up!"

Theo and Lily went to the kitchen to work on the Pizzas. Casey changed into his work shirt and put his apron on. He went back to Carmen. "You have to work too." He handed her a shirt, "Waitress." He answered her unasked question.

In a few minutes Carmen was on the floor taking orders with Casey and Fran. She felt like she belonged there. What's more, she felt like she belonged with Casey.

Casey was running through the Jungle again. This time it didn't have anything to do with his Tiger wanting freedom. This time he was on a mission. He trailed through the moss, twig and leaf covered terrain, searching furiously. When he found Carmen, she'd better explain why she did what she did, he thought to himself.

He heard the waterfall nearing. He'd been searching through the Jungle for over an hour now. A swim in the falls sounded like a good idea. Casey took his shoes, jacket and shirt off and dove into the water. Yeah, definitely a good idea he thought.

He came back up for air and was surprised to see Carmen hanging from a vine. She was smiling.

"Hey there." She said cheerfully.

Casey scoffed and swam to the shore. Carmen got off of the vine looking confused.

"Hey there?" He shook off the water from his body with his panthera abilities and put his shirt on. "That's the first thing you have to say?" Carmen still looked confused. Casey tussled his hair in frustration. "You left! Without a note or anything! I didn't know if you were safe!"

Carmen sighed but smiled. "Number one, I'm always safe. People don't mess with a Gorilla. And number two… I needed to get away."

Her voice trailed off at the end. Casey didn't know how to respond to her sudden change in tone.

"Why did you need to leave?"

Carmen turned away from him, "I figured out why my father chose you."

A smile crept on Casey's face. She turned back to face him. Not knowing what else to do, Casey slowly wrapped his arms around her. She also wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. He stroked her hair.

"It's weird, isn't it? But it'll be alright. I promise. I'll be here for you."

Carmen raised her head from his chest and smiled at him. "I have one more mission." She said. "Will you wait for me?"

"Like I have a choice."

She laughed. "I'll see you in a couple of months."

She used her reflexes and got out of his grip. She climbed a tree.

"Months?" Casey called after her.

She stopped climbing and turned towards him. "I'm going to Angel Grove." She said, "The place has so much monster activity. I probably won't be back until after you defeat Dai Shi."

She winked at him making him laugh. "Carmen?"

Before she could think about anything, Casey closed the distance between them, jumped on the tree and pressed his lips on hers. She kissed him back. They broke away a moment later.

"Good luck out there." Casey said with a smile.

"Good luck to you too."

Casey jumped out of the tree. Carmen was engulfed in grey energy and changed into her Gorilla Beast Form. She swung away and Casey watched until he couldn't see her anymore.

As he walked back to civilization, he couldn't help but think about her. He looked forward to the day their battle with Dai Shi was over. Then he'd take his future wife on their first date.

* * *

Well that's the end of that. Oh wait, there's one more chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This is the final chapter in this series. I own nothing.

* * *

At the Pai Zhug school, Casey had just finished battling Jarrod in front of his other students.

"You're getting better. You will probably advance to the next level soon."

"Thank you Master Tiger."

Jarrod bowed respectfully and headed back to his seat next to Camille. She patted her boyfriend's back in support. The war with Dai Shi, which had ended only a few weeks back, was brutal. Luckily no one was killed and a few relationships were established.

Lily and Theo were happier than ever. Fran and Dominic had left, but sent letters every now and again. RJ was too busy at Jungle Karma, but there was a girl who came in regularly who he always kept an eye on.

Jarrod had taken Camille on their first date. Because she had been waiting patiently in a wall for ten thousand years, she didn't understand what she had to do. Even with little experience, Camille had made it through, with help from Lily.

Now Casey was the only one who was still waiting. He hadn't seen Carmen in seven months, but they did call each other.

The class ended and Casey dismissed his students. Camille and Jarrod stayed behind.

"What can I do for you guys?" Casey asked.

"RJ is having a dinner at Jungle Karma tonight." Camille said, "Just the Rangers and us."

"Will you come?" Jarrod asked putting his arm around Camille.

Casey smiled at his action. The first time Jerrod had done that, Camille had seen it as a threat and had thrown him over her shoulder. "Yeah, I'll be there."

"See you tonight."

Camille waved to him as they left. Casey went to the room he had at the Pai Zhug Academy. He closed his bedroom door and opened the top drawer of his desk. His solar morpher was in it. He put it on and pressed the button on the side.

Far away from him, Carmen's glove morpher began to glow. She put her right fist into her left hand. When she released her fist a screen popped up. She saw Casey's smiling face.

"Hey Case." She said with a smile, "What are you up to?"

"I just finished a class." He said laying down on his bed, "Where are you?"

"On the roof of the Youth Center in Angel Grove." She said with a sigh, "I'm hiding from the kids."

"What happened?"

Brody Scott, Lemar Taylor, Rachel Oliver and Brittney Cranston hung out at the Youth Centre a lot, like their parents had done in their youth. Someone had let it leak that Carmen was a Power Ranger and the three of them were dead set on seeing her morphing sequence. Casey couldn't help but laugh.

"It's not funny!" Carmen said laughing too, "They threatened to start a 'WE WANNA SEE CARMEN MORPH ' club and invite the other firstborns of Zordon's era."

During her stay in Angel Grove, Carmen had met the original Rangers and they had welcomed her like a sister. "If you can morph, if you fight for the good of the earth, then you're one of us." Jason Scott, the original Red had said to her.

Casey laughed even harder at what she had described, "Seeing you being chased by eleven little kids would be hilarious!"

"I need to get out of Angel Grove." Carmen said with a sigh.

"Then come home!" Casey's tone turned serious, "Look, I know the mission in Angel Grove is important, but…"

"You miss me." Carmen finished for him, "I miss you to Case."

"Then it's settled! You're coming home!"

"Case…"

"Nope! I don't want to hear it!" he sat up in his bed. "Either you get here by the end of the week or I'll drive to Angel Grove and get you myself!"

Carmen chuckled. "Possessive, aren't we?"

"You're my soul mate."

Carmen felt the connection they had. How dare he use that against me, she thought. Sighing, she gave in.

"Alright Casey, I'll… come home."

He smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too." Carmen attention turned to the door, which was the only way to get to the roof. "I gotta go! They found me!"

"Run!" Casey said with a smile.

Before Carmen hung up, he heard a boy scream "There she is".

Casey took his solar morpher off and got ready to go to RJ's party.

When he got to Jungle Karma, everyone was already there. Camille and Jarrod were the first to wave to him. Lily came up to him and hugged him.

"It's good to see you Case!"

"You too Lil."

Because of his commitment at the academy, the three core ex-Rangers couldn't spend a lot of time together.

Lily let go of him. "Guess what!"

Before Casey could say anything, Lily raised her left hand to his face. He saw a thin diamond ring on her ring finger. Casey's eyes widened in surprise and he searched the room for Theo who was walking towards them.

"Calm down Casey." Theo said laughing. "It's just a promise ring." he took Lily's hand in his, "Although, the way she's showing it off, it might as well be an engagement ring."

Casey smiled as Lily gave Theo a kiss on the cheek and went back to the table. It wasn't that Casey was jealous of the two; he had his soul mate; it was that the three of them were still in their teenage years.

RJ came out of the kitchen followed by a girl who was a regular at Jungle Karma, like Fran had been. They were each carrying two steaming hot large Pizzas. They put them down on the set table.

"Casey! Finally!" RJ said with a smile. He took the hand of the young woman who had helped with the Pizzas and brought her to where he was standing. "This is Sonja."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Casey said.

"It's an honour to meet the former leader of the Jungle Fury Rangers."

She bowed to Casey, who looked at RJ. He smiled.

"Sonja is the daughter of Master Guin." He explained.

Casey's eyes widened in surprise. Lily called everyone to the table. She assigned the seats.

Jarrod and Camille sat next to each other. Next to Camille were Sonja and RJ. Across from them were Lily and Theo. There was one more place set next to Casey's assigned seat.

"Lil, who's this for?" he asked.

"That would be for me." Carmen came through the door. Casey's mind suddenly stopped working. He forgot how to tell his legs to move. He finally regained control and got out of his chair. "Thank you Lily." She smiled at her friend.

Casey wrapped his arms around Carmen and spun her around. The other smiled at the couple.

"I thought you were coming back at the end of the week!"

"I thought about it." Carmen said, "It's Monday. The end of the week is too far away." She ran her fingers through the back of his hair and smiled. "I'm home."

She leaned up and Casey met her half way. They kissed and the others cheered them on. They separated and went to the table holding hands. The Pizza was dished out and the conversations started. Casey however didn't pay attention to any of it. He was so glad Carmen was back. Now they could start a life together. Well, as normal a life as two animal-spirit-wielding people could have.

He tapped Theo on the shoulder. His friend leaned in to listen to what he had to say.

"So… Where'd you buy the ring for Lily?"

Theo smiled and hit Casey on the back.

With great friends and love, life couldn't get any better for the former Jungle Fury Rangers.

* * *

Okay... now it's the end. Can't believe i finished it. Oh well, all good things and all that.


End file.
